Acceptance
by Higuchimon
Summary: Tommy has something very important that he wants to talk to Kim about, so he flies down to Florida to do it. [alternate episode]


**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters or situations presented here and am not making any profit off of them whatsoever.  
**Story Title:** Acceptance  
**Rated:** PG-13  
**Word Count:** 5,329  
**Romance:** Kim x Tommy  
**Notes:** This is _my_ version of the Kim and Tommy breakup. Comments and criticism gratefully accepted.  
**Summary:** Tommy has something very important that he wants to talk to Kim about, so he flies down to Florida to do it.

* * *

The flight from Angel Grove to Miami had been a long one, and even an athlete as trained and toned as Tommy Oliver had had to get some sleep during it. He'd never flown across country before, and it was rather embarrassing in a personal way to think that he'd done it sound asleep this time. _Some leader I am if I can't even stay awake for three thousand miles._ He grinned to himself. The in-flight movie hadn't been _that_ interesting, and he didn't know anyone well enough to try and start up a conversation.

But at last the flight was finally over, he was awake and disembarking, and his legs felt a lot better for being stretched now. He looked around as he headed to find his bag, noting his fellow passengers meeting friends and family. He knew there wasn't going to be anyone waiting for him. The person he'd come to see didn't know he was there. This was going to be a surprise visit.

He knew right where she was, of course. He'd written her a dozen times there, and called her a few as well. So once he'd gathered up his single bag of clothes and hailed a cab, it only took the hailing of a cab to get started on the final leg of his trip.

As the Florida scenery rolled by, the tall young man wondered anew if this was the right thing he was planning. He _did_ care about her, a lot, but it wasn't what it had once been. But if her feelings hadn't changed, or had changed, but not in the way his had...he didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was going to be in tears soon.

The cabby was thankfully a silent one; Tommy didn't really feel like taking part in casual conversation at the moment. Plus, a part of his mind was still tuned towards the communicator on his wrist. If it beeped, he'd have to make some kind of excuse for why he was talking into his watch.

_It's not going to._ He reminded himself. He'd worn it only out of habit, really, he didn't need it. Not for this visit. A two week vacation from everything. He was definitely going to have to do something very nice for Billy when he got the chance.

"Here we are," the cabby spoke the first words since acknowledging he knew where to take his customer. "Gunther Schmidt's training camp. You know, you don't really look like the gymnastics type, kid."

Tommy just grinned. "I'm not. I've got a girlfriend here and I'm surprising her." He slipped out of the cab after handing over the fare, and looked at the impressive estate. _If I'd known Pan Global wanna-bes live like **this**, maybe I would've went out for them!_

It looked like a mansion, surrounded by beautiful scenery, and caressed by soft warm winds. He could hear the shouts and cries of people as they went back and forth about their business. It sounded a little like the Youth Center back when gymnastics meets were being held there. _Like that should surprise me._

There didn't appear to be a guard or anything at the gate, so he walked in, looking around casually to see if he saw a familiar tiny figure anywhere. _Lots of people...but no Kimberly._ Maybe she was inside today. She had to be around here somewhere.

"Hey, can I help you?" A blonde girl came up to him with a cheery smile, then looked a bit closer. "Hey, you're Tommy Oliver!"

He was taken aback; the last thing he'd expected was to fly three thousand miles and get recognized by someone he didn't know! "Yeah, how'd you know?"

The girl grinned. "I'm Kimberly's roommate, Eleanor. She's shown me pictures of you for the last year or so." She frowned just a little. "She didn't tell me you were coming, though."

"She doesn't know. I'm surprising her." Tommy glanced around again. "Do you know where she is?"

Eleanor nodded quickly. "She's in the back, working on this new routine she put together yesterday. Coach is helping her." She started to reach for his bag. "We've got some guest rooms I can put that in if you'd like to go see her now."

Tommy hesitated only for a moment. He hadn't really been planning on an audience when he said what he'd come here to say, but maybe he didn't _have_ to just say it and run. _I'd like to see her working out again, too. She's always been so beautiful when she does it._ "All right. Just let me know which room you put me in. I'd hate to wander over the whole place trying to find where I'm supposed to sleep!"

Eleanor just grinned, then pointed inside. "I'll tell the secretary inside where I'm putting your things, and you can ask them where they are when you're ready."

"Thanks." He flashed a smile at her, then headed on around back in the direction she'd pointed out before. _Glad that Kimberly's got good friends here._ He was very certain that she was going to need them.

Before he was halfway around the place, he could hear the voice of Coach Schmidt. He'd only met the man a few times prior to his and Kimberly's leaving for here, but the thick accent was readily identifiable. He seemed to be encouraging Kimberly as she worked on this new routine.

All these sounds were familiar to him. He'd heard them so many times while they were both in Angel Grove. The sound of feet lightly running across a mat, then a faint noise he knew instinctively was a jump, then other sounds he knew as easily as he knew the rhythm of his own breathing.

He paused for a moment just before turning to the back of the house. He wanted to savor this. It had been months since he'd seen her, over a week since the last letter, two weeks since the last phone call. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't keep in touch the way he should. Maybe that was a part of it. Maybe it was just a symptom. He didn't know. He just knew what he had to do.

A very familiar grunt came to his ears, as someone landed on a mat. "Still not _right_ yet!" The unbelievably familiar voice of Kimberly Hart spoke. "Not good enough!

"You are doing _very_ good." Coach Schmidt encouraged her. "Perhaps you should rest for a while."

Tommy took a deep breath. It was time to do this. Gathering all of his courage, he walked around the side of the house and saw her there, wrapping a towel around her neck, and looking just as she had after so many other meets and practice sessions, happy and fulfilled and just a bit dissatisfied. Like any performer or athlete, Kimberly was never quite pleased with herself. _She's always reaching higher and higher._ Tommy smiled to himself. That was one of the reasons he'd always liked her. He had the same attitude himself.

"I think I've almost got it though," Kimberly hadn't noticed him as she mopped her brow. She stretched gracefully and carefully, making certain not to overstrain her muscles as she did so. "A few more times."

"Not just yet." Her coach reminded her. "You need to rest first. Overworking yourself now will show up later."

Kimberly nodded, reaching for a container of water resting beside Schmidt. Her eyes flicked up towards him as she did so, and for the first time in his life, Tommy actually _saw_ someone's jaw drop in shock. "T..._Tommy_?"

"It's me." He grinned at her, half bracing to have her jump into his arms. When she didn't, he watched her a bit more carefully. She didn't seem...quite as hyper to see him as he'd been thinking. _At least she didn't faint this time._ He grinned mentally, remembering her reaction when he'd returned as the White Ranger.

She stared at him, her grip tightening on the water bottle. "I thought you were in Angel Grove. I mean..." She made a brief motion towards her wrist where her communicator once rested, and he understood.

"Billy's taking over for me while I'm gone." He smiled a bit weakly. "One of Mondo's goons did some serious damage at the school, so we've got a couple of weeks out until it gets fixed."

Kimberly nodded briefly, then look at the Coach. "Coach, you remember my boyfriend, Tommy Oliver?"

"Yes, indeed." The portly man nodded, his eyes flicking from one to the other of them. Whatever he saw, he kept to himself as he stood up. "I'm certain the two of you have much to discuss, and I must check on the others."

As he left, Kimberly's eyes followed him till he was out of sight, then looked back at Tommy. "I'm glad you came." She sipped briefly at the water, her eyes slipping off of him to wander all over the equipment. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." He came a little closer, and ...was Kimberly moving back from him? She couldn't be _scared_ of him, could she? He wanted to ask, but that wasn't exactly a question one put to one's girlfriend.

The small woman looked down for a moment, then looked up at him. "You could've told me you were coming." There was just the faintest trace of accusation in her voice, and he was a bit taken aback.

"Kimberly, that would kind of defeat the purpose of 'surprise visit'." He reminded her. She flushed and looked away.

"Sorry. I just wasn't expecting you and I'm kind of on edge, I guess. I've been working at this thing all day, and now..." She bit her lip, and he couldn't help but smile at just how cute she looked like that.

"I probably should've said _something_." He agreed. "But it is good to see you again, Kim."

She smiled a trifle weakly, then looked at him a bit more closely. "Tommy...you haven't called me 'beautiful' since you got here."

_She noticed._ He tried not to shiver, since he wasn't really certain of what was going to happen next. "I know. I didn't just come for a visit, Kimberly. We have to talk."

The brown-haired ex-Ranger looked him in the eyes for the first time, then nodded. "You're right. We do."

"Here?" He motioned briefly to the backyard. There were a few other gymnasts around, but not too many. Every now and then they could see one of them glancing in their direction, but it was plain they were trying to be polite about it. It was just as plain that they were eaten up with curiosity. _I'm not going to satisfy it for them, though. This is our business._

Kimberly shook her head. "Let's go for a walk. I know a place by the beach." She slipped her tennis shoes on, wrapped the strap of her belt with the pouch on it around her waist, and started back to the front of the house. Tommy fell in step beside her, automatically shortening his stride to match her. He'd forgotten how many times he'd done that, so he wouldn't leave her behind.

It was going to be strange after this. He had a lot of habits that were connected to her. But sometimes habits were best broken.

* * *

The sound of the waves crashing on the beach in Florida was eerily similar to the waves on the beach in California. Tommy wasn't entirely certain of why he was so surprised, a beach was a beach and waves were waves after all. He smiled just a touch, however. He had always spent his life on one shore or the other, no matter how often his family had moved about. There was something comforting in the eternal ebb and flow of the tides. _It's like I can feel the earth's heartbeat in them._ He liked the sound of that. It felt very poetic. Maybe he'd tell it to Adam when he got back. The Green Zeo Ranger was always looking for new material for his poems. Or maybe he'd even try his hand at writing one himself.

"So..." Kimberly scooped a shell out of the sand and flipped it nervously between her fingers as they walked. It was almost as if they were back in Angel Grove, having a stroll on the familiar beaches. Almost, but not quite. They could both feel the differences, not just in where they were, but in what they wanted to say to one another. "We have to talk."

Tommy nodded. He'd never been good at this part of a relationship. The two other girlfriends he'd had before moving to Angel Grove had broken up with him before he'd had a chance to say anything to them. This was a first time for him. "Kimberly, I know we've been together for a long time, and I really care about you, and I don't want to hurt you, but..."

She turned towards him, a faintly curious expression on her face. "Tommy, are you going to tell me that you're in love with someone else?"

He shook his head quickly. "No! No, that's not it at all!"

Now she was confused. "You're not proposing or something, are you?"

"No!!" That got an even more violently negative reaction than the first question had. "I'm doing this all wrong, it looks like." He took a deep breath and reached inside of his pocket, pulling out the small bracelet she had given him as a token of her love when she had come out here. "Kimberly, you'll always have a special place in my heart, but I think it's best if we...aren't a couple any longer."

There, he'd said it. Now whatever happened, happened.

Kimberly looked at him for a long, quiet moment, not speaking or moving. "You're breaking up with me?" She finally asked, and he nodded dumbly, unable to say the words again. She looked at the bracelet again, then slowly reached out to take it. Then, she quietly reached into the pouch on her belt and pulled out the ring that he'd given her. It wasn't an engagement ring or a promise ring. One might say it was a promise to promise.

"Kimberly?" He looked a little confused as she held it out to him. "I've never really done this before, but shouldn't you be upset or something? I've heard most girls are when their boyfriend breaks up with them."

She smiled a little, then gave a weak laugh. "I probably would be, if I hadn't been planning on breaking up with _you_." The look on his face was obviously quite amusing since she laughed as she looked at him. "Tommy, you'll always be my friend, and we had a great time together. But I just don't think the spark is there anymore."

He looked at her a bit feebly. "You don't think it's just because we're so far apart and if we spent more time together we'd be in love again, do you?"

Kimberly looked at him with a wisdom that had seldom been shown so clearly. Or maybe it had always been there and he had been too wrapped up in other things to see it. "I don't think so, Tommy." She glanced down a bit, fiddling with the shell she'd kept in her fingers. "This was starting for me before I ever left Angel Grove. One of the reasons I left was because I was hoping that getting some space would help me figure out how I felt about a lot of things." She flipped it between her fingers, seeming to concentrate more on it than anything else. "I guess it did. I just didn't think it was going to end up like this."

She lifted her head to look at him, and he could see a tear shining in each of those glistening brown eyes. "I don't regret it, though. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you." Her lips twitched a bit. "I was going to write you a letter telling you I'd found someone else, actually. I would have been lying, but I couldn't think of any other way to do it." She blushed. "I think the only thing stopping me was I didn't think you'd believe me, and I didn't want you to come rushing down here trying to either talk me out of it or wanting to meet this 'other guy'."

Tommy grinned, feeling a sudden lightening in his soul and heart. "I probably would have, too!" For the first time since he had made this decision, he _knew_ that this was the right thing to do, knew it down to the core of his soul and his bones, without a single shred of hesitation or worry over how she was going to react to it.

Kimberly laughed, and turned to look at him. "So, now that we're just friends, what do we do?" Her grin widened. "I haven't found anyone cute here, but what about you? Anyone you've had _your_ eye on? I know you said you weren't in love with anyone else, but still..."

"No, no one really." Tommy shrugged as they continued on down the beach. "I've thought about a few girls, I'm not _dead_, but there's just been no one I've really been interested in."

The ex-Pink Ranger shot him a speculative glance. "Are you _sure_ about that? I know you were looking at Kat when she first showed up." She grinned teasingly. "If I were into that kind of thing, I might go chasing after her, you know. She _is_ really pretty and she's a great dancer and diver and all the rest. She's a lot more talented than I ever was."

Tommy shook his head. "Not more. Just differently. You were a cheerleader and a gymnast and you did all that stuff with plants and things like that. Just because you did different things, doesn't mean she's more talented."

"I guess it depends on what you're looking for." Kimberly looked down at the shell in her fingers again. "But what about her?"

"What about her?" Tommy repeated, but his words had a different inflection than hers. "I don't know, Kimberly. I know she's not a replacement you, any more than Rocky was a replacement Jason or Aisha was a replacement Trini. She _is_ beautiful, you're right, but I haven't asked her out, and I'm not going to any time soon." He grinned wryly. "I _am_ coming out of a relationship that lasted for a couple of years, you know. I don't want to get caught up in some kind of rebound thing."

Kimberly chuckled a little. "Good idea. I'm not really in a hurry to date anyway. I've got the Pan-Globals to deal with first."

"How are you doing with your training? I didn't really get a look at you before, but I heard you, and it sounded okay..."

She looked at him, then smiled a bit. "Watch." She dropped the shell and slipped first her shoes then her belt off, clad still in the leotard she'd been wearing when he showed up. Her every motion as graceful as a gazelle, she ran a short way down the beach, then leaped into the air, her body twisting and contorting into configurations he had no names for but just knew they were beautiful.

"I guess that means you're doing well?" He grinned as she came back over to him, tugging her shoes back on, and rolled her eyes at him.

"You could say that." Kimberly picked up the shell again, her fingers tracing across it almost obsessively. "That's pretty much all we do around here, you know. Gymnastics. When we aren't in class."

Tommy's eyes twinkled at her. "Amazing, considering it's a gymnastics camp and all." She whapped him lightly on the arm and grinned.

"So, now that we've gotten the important part of your visit out of the way, what else are you going to do?"

The tall young man glanced towards the ocean. "I don't really know." He chuckled. "Honestly, what I was really thinking was going to happen was that I was going to be so nervous about telling you, and you wouldn't want to break up, that I'd spend most of the two weeks just trying to work up the nerve to say something without it hurting you."

She looked at him, then shook her head. "Only you, Tommy Oliver, would plan to spend two weeks with someone you came down to break up with, _and_ plan to spend those same two weeks trying to break up with them!"

Tommy blushed a fiery shade of red, then shrugged again. "Why don't you show me around Miami? When you've got the time, of course. We've spent a lot of time dating...we can spend a while as friends."

Kimberly grinned at him, then suddenly held the shell out. "Tommy, I want you to have this. It's kind of silly, but I want you to have it."

"Kimberly?" This was coming out of left field completely. "What for?"

She looked down at the shell, then up at him. "I picked this thing up when we stopped being a couple and became just friends again. I want this so you can remember that we had something good and it became better, because we realized when it was over." She flushed. "I know it's silly, like I said, but...it's what I want."

Tommy reached out and picked the shell up, folding her small hand in his as he did so. "I don't think it's too silly, Kimberly. I think it's a good idea. I just wish I had something so _you_ could remember."

She lifted her head to look at him, and he saw amusement and good humor dancing in her eyes. "But, Tommy..._I'm_ not the one with the faulty memory."

* * *

"Hey, guys!" Kimberly waved cheerily as the two of them walked back into the compound. As the sun was starting to slip down towards the horizon, it looked as if outdoor practice had ended for the day. Eleanor greeted them with a grin.

"Done with all your lovey-dovey stuff?" She teased, and Kimberly chuckled as Tommy tried to figure out something to say.

"Done with it forever. We decided to break up." The ex-Pink Ranger told her roommate. "It was a mutual thing. It's just not what it used to be, and trying to stay together when we really don't want to be."

Eleanor looked a little surprised, then shrugged. "I can't say that I'm really _too_ surprised. You haven't been chattering on about him like you were when you first got here." She grinned mischievously. "So, does that mean you're back on the open market, Tommy, or do you have someone else already back in California?"

Before Tommy could open his mouth, Kimberly pushed her now ex-boyfriend towards Eleanor. "He's free for the taking. At least for the next two weeks."

Tommy stuttered a little as Eleanor wrapped one arm around his. "Hey, that's all I want him for!" She grinned mischievously. "I've never been good at long-term relationships anyway."

"I'm not really that interested in a long-term relationship." Tommy told her, and the other girl shrugged.

"Like I said, I'm not good at those. Heck, I don't even think you're my type, but we can at least get to know each other till you have to go!" Eleanor poked him in the ribs. "The more friends, the better, right?"

Tommy grinned as he deftly twisted away from her. "Right."

The next two weeks were two of the most entertaining weeks that Tommy had ever had in his life. He didn't actually _date_, unless one wanted to call the group gatherings that he and some of the gymnasts went out on dates. He and Kimberly talked about old times and new times, and she was very interested to hear about Tanya, whom she had never met before.

"I'm going to be coming back to Angel Grove for a visit in a few months." She glanced over at the calendar in her room. "Late May or early June, I think."

Tommy nodded, checking it himself. "Just before our graduation?" Kimberly herself had officially transferred to the school that Coach Schmidt had on the grounds when she'd moved here.

"Yeah, I think that's it." She checked the circled date and nodded. "A couple of weeks before." Her fingers touched an early date on it. "Mom's coming to visit here then." The small girl made a face. "I don't think she's going to be all that thrilled I'm here."

Her ex-boyfriend looked at her curiously. "Why not? I know she's proud of you being such a great gymnast."

"Yeah, she is." Kimberly agreed. "I don't think she ever was happy with me coming here, though. She wanted me to give up on the gymnastics after my accident." She touched the back of her head briefly, remembering when she'd hit herself during one practice session.

Tommy nodded, remembering how concerned Kimberly's mother had been when he'd called her back then. "She's not going to try and make you leave, is she?"

"Even if she tries, I won't." Kimberly's voice was firm and confidant. "This is my dream, and I'm not going to give up on it, for _anything_. Besides, the Pan-Globals aren't that far off, and giving up when I'm this close would just be wrong."

Tommy nodded, then sighed, looking at his watch. "I need to start packing. It's almost time for me to hit the airport."

"I know." Kimberly smiled a bit weakly at him. "It's been fun having you around. I really miss Angel Grove and all of you guys. Tell everyone hi for me?"

Tommy nodded. "They're probably going to kill me since I haven't called. Billy really wanted to know how you took things." He grinned. "When I told him what I was coming here to do, he told me he was surprised it had taken this long."

Kimberly looked a little surprised. "He knew? I mean, before you said anything about it?"

"He's Billy." Tommy shrugged lightly. "He's pretty good at reading people, I guess. And he _has_ known you for a while." He jabbed lightly at Kimberly. "He wouldn't be that bad of a boyfriend either, you know."

The lithe gymnast blushed just the faintest bit. "He's not really the kind of guy I'm interested in, you know. He's a good friend."

Tommy looked at her with knowing eyes, then pulled himself to his feet. "Who knows what the future holds, Kim?" He smiled a little. "I know I didn't have any idea what _my_ future held when Mom and Dad told me we were moving to Angel Grove."

She looked up at him curiously. "Do you regret it? Any of it?"

He didn't answer right away, thinking over all the things that had happened to him since then. "No. I don't even regret the bad times. They make the good ones nicer." He grinned. "Besides, if all we had were good times, would we even know they _were_ good, without something to compare them to?"

Kimberly looked a little confused; that was not the kind of thinking she was used to hearing from Tommy. Trini maybe, but that was about it. "I guess so."

The two of them headed out of her room and down to where Tommy had been placed on his arrival. Eleanor was out doing some shopping while she had spare time, which had given them the chance to say farewell to each other. Though neither of them said it out loud, they both knew that this was going to be the last solo trip he made to see her. Their lives were about to take a very major turn as she threw herself more into her gymnastics and he went back to Angel Grove to take up the mantle of the Red Ranger once again.

She watched as he packed in silence. Everything they had to say had been said already. In the last two weeks, everything they'd decided had simply become solidified in their minds. They had spent a little quiet time together, but it was the quiet of friends who have no need to speak, not the quiet of young people in love. She couldn't help but be glad of this. The line to their hearts had been stretched thin by the distance between them, and cutting it cleanly now was the best for all concerned.

Tommy finally zipped up his bag and swung it over one shoulder. He'd stopped himself from buying anything more than one single souvenir for each of his friends, since he didn't want to have to get another bag to take home with him. _I did see a lot of things I wanted to bring back, though._ None of those things had been Kimberly, or anything that would remind him of her, besides the shell she had given him. That was safely zipped into a protective bag of it's own in an inner pocket of his luggage, where it would be safe.

"The cab should be here soon." Kimberly started out of the room, and Tommy followed after. "I'm glad we did it like this, Tommy. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I'd went through with the letter plan."

Tommy nodded. "I know how you feel. That would have been bad." He smiled at her. "That's one thing we won't have to worry about, though."

"Yeah." She paused just before they left the house and gave him a warm, friendly hug. "I _am_ going to miss you, though." She grinned. "Not enough to try and date you again, but I _will_ miss my friend."

Tommy hugged her back gently, making sure not to hurt her thin body. He knew gymnasts had to be slender, but she had always been a tad smaller and more fragile than he'd ever thought gymnasts had to be. "I'll miss _my_ friend too. Don't forget to come for that visit."

She rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I won't. I'll see you then, big guy." She poked him in the ribs sharply. "And I want to hear from you more often, Tommy! Phone calls, mails, _e-mails_, we're in the computer age!" She motioned to the laptop on her desk. "We aren't that cut off from each other, you know."

"I know, I know! I'll be good!" He promised, then started out of the doorway. "You'll probably get more e-mail from Billy than you will from me, though."

Kimberly snorted. "I'm not surprised. Your idea of a 'long letter' is about three lines and a signature." She followed him as he headed down the pathway, the few gymnasts who were around waving and bidding him fare well.

The cab pulled up almost as soon as he got to the end of the lane, and the driver leaned out. "You call for a cab?"

"Yeah, that's me." Tommy opened the door and tossed his bag into the back carefully, then looked back at Kimberly. "I'll give you a call when I get back home and get some rest."

She nodded, a smile touching her lips. "Thanks for everything, Tommy. And I mean everything."

"Thank _you_, Kimberly." For a moment they stood there gazing into each other's eyes, then Tommy leaned over and brushed his lips across Kimberly's cheek. "Good luck. In everything."

"Same to you." She watched quietly as he slid into the cab and shut the door. It drove off down the road, and her eyes followed it all the way. She felt free. She was going to miss him, but she knew it had all been for the best. Kimberly Hart headed back to the house, and never before had she felt so completely at peace.

**The End**


End file.
